Greek Cookies

Yesterday I received two emails from the Redifer Commons desk indicating that packages had been delivered in my name. I was sure that one of the two packag

es would be my new loofa, which I ordered on Amazon. But I was surprised when I received the second email because I was not expecting more than one package. Before I picked up the acai bowl I ordered from Bowls@South, I took the

elevator down to the basement to pick up my packages. I then ventured back upstairs, picked up

my bowl, and sat at a table to eat my breakfast and open my packages. As I suspected, the first package was the loofa that I ordered. But I was still unsure of what could be in the other box. As soon as I saw what was inside the second box, I knew exactly what it was and who sent it to me. It was two packs of Papadopoulos brand Caprice cookies: a modern Greek delicacy! For clarification, while my last name is Papadopoulos, my family has no involvement in the Papadopoulos cookie and snack food business; Papadopoulos is simply the most common Greek last name. I was super surprised to see that these cookies had been sent to me and narrowed their purchaser down to my mother, considering the fact that she is the only know who knows what my student address is.

In this blog post I wanted to introduce you guys to a bunch of different Greek desserts. The Papadopoulos snack brand has a large market share of the snack food market in Greece. From them, we get a wide flavor array of sandwich cookies, arguably their most popular product. When I was younger, I would always remind my mother to pick up a few sleeves of these cookies when she made her biweekly visits to the Greek market. They sell flavors like banana, strawberry, lime, chocolate, coconut, and a bunch of other fruits. They’re basically healthy because they’re fruit flavored. Another very popular business line they manage is Caprice cookies. There are thin, straw-like wafers that come in chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and caffe latte. These are also very popular, but I would say they are less popular than the sandwich cookie line. Though they do come in a nice tin cylindrical container, which I assume is why my mom decided to send them and not the plastic wrapped sandwich cookies.

Aside from these snack-centric desserts, Greeks enjoy many traditional homemade desserts. Around Christmas every year, my mom spends hours each night during the week leading up the 25^th preparing cookies to be given to our friends and families. Koulourakia are similar in taste to an almond-biscotti but are braided in shape. My mom always has my siblings and I help her with the formation of these braided treats

because it’s far too much labor for one person. Another cookie that makes its way

onto her Christmas trays are Kouroubethes. These are similar in texture to the sugar cookies you would find packaged in the bakery section of your grocery store. However, they are shaped in mounds and covered in powdered sugar. Because they are rather dry and are covered in powdered sugar, they sure are a bit messy!